The Return
by Mini Egg Mastermind
Summary: Ethan can hear Rochelle in his head. But he won't listen. As Rochelle loses her chance to return each day, they must fight for their love. ExR Please Review!
1. Chapter 1

ETHAN

I woke with a start. My head pounded with the frustration that ran through me. I had been so close, so close. I could almost touch her long dark hair. But as my arm stretched out just that little bit further, she faded. It was my bellow of rage that released me from the dream. I put my head in my hands and sighed. There was an ongoing pain in my heart that had not gone away. It had been three months since Rochelle's death. And the pain still lived on. Every night I dreamt of here. I would think back of the last moment we had shared, which had been the first moment we'd shared our love.

I moaned. Why was life so cruel?

"Ethan? Are you alright?" My father's voice came from the other side of my door. He must have heard me in my sleep.

"I'm fine," I replied monotonously. Swinging my legs out of bed, I grabbed a sweatshirt and some shoes. I needed fresh air. And there was only one place I could be right now.

The cliffs were so peaceful. Here I could think. I could reminisce of Rochelle. She stood here in the wind, tears running down her perfect face. And when we'd kissed, I'd known. I had met my soul mate. But she had to be taken away from me. Was it a punishment for something I'd done? Everyone I loved seemed to leave. I sat down on the dry grass and looked into the distance. The sharp winds blew my hair around, blew my thoughts around my head.

_Ethan...._

I got up in an instant. I looked around. There was no one in sight. The trees swayed slightly, and the grass wavered in the breeze. I turned back to my spot, and heard the voice again.

_Answer me Ethan...._

This was crazy. I was imagining Rochelle's voice in my head. I closed my eyes and turned around. I had this weird notion that everything might be resolved. Maybe she was standing behind me. But when I opened them, all I could see was the forest. I drew rasped breaths as I ran into the throng of trees. I was all alone; there was no doubt about that. I stopped at a clearing. I had a brainwave.

Using my power, I drew a vision of Rochelle in front of me. She blinked in confusion. She reached out. But I lost my concentration, and she vanished in a second.

_I'll see you soon. I promise. I love...._

ROCHELLE

"DAMNIT!" I screamed, punching the air with fury. I had been so very close, but I'd lost it. I reassessed the situation. It would take all my strength to do it again. But it had to be done. I was going insane here. Twice in the last hour I had been just an inch away, but I had failed. A tear ran down my cheek, disappearing as it fell through the air. There were no tears here. This world was supposed to be bliss, but it would never be bliss without Ethan standing by my side.

I breathed deep, the strong memory of him overwhelming me. I let it out and turned to see Dartemis approaching me.

The last three months had been hard, but they would have been unbearable without Dartemis' help. He was my light when all else was dark. He had brought me here, for my sacrifice had not gone unnoticed. I was told I was now the highest ranking one there was, after the Immortals, in this world.

"You need to stop," Dartemis soothed as he placed a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off.

"I can't. He's everything to me. I can't just let him go."

"But you must understand. You live in two different worlds."

"Then we must find a way to be in the same one."

"Rochelle—"

"I can't move on. And I know he can't. Do you not see how he hurts inside?"

"I do."

"And I hurt too. You can kill me. But you can never stop me hurting like this."

I turned my back on him and ran, my hair flying behind me. There had to be a way. There just had to be.

I went to the one person I knew had everything to owe to me, since I had died for another of their Named.

"Rochelle?" Lorian's violet eyes glimmered with question. I looked hard at the great Immortal, now contained in this afterworld like me. I slumped onto the grass and let it all spill out.

ETHAN

I now stood at Rochelle's grave.

_Rochelle A. Thalimar_

_Named for her courage_

_As a true,_

_Beloved girl._

_Missed by all_

It was a play on words. Named. For her courage. She was one of the Named, who jumped in front of an arrow to save – me. For all the days I knew her, I had never stopped loving her. But if it hadn't have been for me, she would still be alive, prophecy or no prophecy. I laid down the tulip. I broke down. I didn't even care at that point.

But my heart had shattered the day she left me, and this was all I could do.

_Ethan. I'm still with you._

The voice whispered in my head again. I tried to shut it out, knowing I was imagining it; this was making my moving on that much harder.

_Do I have to say it any louder boy! I'm trying to talk to you!_

The voice yelled inside my mind. Well, more like screamed. It was so—Rochelle. I leapt back. This was crazy. Completely insane. But I opened my eyes and was silent. I just wanted to hear her one more time.

_You can always hear me. I can hear you._

"Rochelle? Are you there?" I called out. A fellow grave goer, a man in the cemetery, looked in my direction, but returned to his business of laying flowers.

_Don't speak out. Only you can I reach._

'Do we have time?' I thought.

_I don't know. Which is why you need to know that I love you, and there may be a way back._

'How?' I thought, my mind frantic with the need to see her again. But there was no answer. I shook my head, I had officially lost it. But then again, what if I hadn't? I mean, I could move things with my mind, I could create visions just by will. There had to be a loophole in the threads of reality and her world...somewhere.


	2. Chapter 2

ETHAN

I peered over the edge of the cliff. My foot was precariously close to the precipice, and with every motion, I sent small stones tumbling down into the crashing waves, their fatal strength washing fear through me. Part of me knew I was insane, that I was dangerously close to the edge, and I should step back. But a fraction of my heart was screaming out that this was the only way. The only way for me to –

_Ethan_

There she was again. My beloved Rochelle, the voice of pure perfection in my eyes, echoed through my mind. It was so unbearable to be away from her, but I knew I should be strong. Without Rochelle, life took a turn like it had when my sister Sera had been killed.

I cursed the day Marduke had died. Whilst I had let the curse Lorian had placed on Marduke take hold, inside I was still bubbling with vengeance. I still needed to get my revenge. But he was no longer here, just a crumbling statue in the forest that was near impossible to locate. It had been months since I had looked upon Marduke's stony half face. His expression of pain and regret etched on his face forever.

_Ethan, are you there?_

Yeah, I'm here, I thought, kneeling down and plucking some grass from its roots, throwing it into the strong winds. I'd been hearing Rochelle's voice for about a week now, her words flowing into my mind daily, giving me a strength to carry on I didn't know was possible. But it was also making moving on even harder. How was I supposed to forget her, when she was constantly there?

_Please don't forget…_

I shook my head. This was getting out of hand. There was the notion I was going crazy, I mean, who else hears voices of their dead girlfriends in their head? But to be honest, she wasn't even my girlfriend. We hadn't even got that far. She was just my true love. The girl I couldn't live without.

_Think harder Ethan. You've been so lazy. Don't you want me back?_

I sighed, nodding. Rochelle told me there had to be a way for her to get back. But back from where? I didn't know which world she was in. I couldn't go to the world of the dead, it was impossible. The only other place her soul could have gone would be—

I leapt up. Of course! Matt had taken his training with his father in the other realm. Ok, so I knew Matt was the son of an immortal, and more powerful than the rest of us Named. But perhaps it was possible for me to travel over the rift and enter that world. If only.

Rochelle, I willed her prescence with my mind. Rochelle, you have to tell me where you are. I need to know.

_Another world. Of whose name I do not know. The world of the immortals. Dartemis brought me here after I—_

So you're with Dartemis, I stated in my mind. This was good news. Matt had taken that journey before. But how could I get across unnoticed. Matt could never know, nor Akarian for that matter. So telling anyone else would be the end to my mission.

"Ethan?" a light voice came from behind me. I whipped around in surprise, to be faced with Neriah, my former apprentice, and my arch nemesis' daughter. But where Marduke was evil, his heart tempted by darkness, Neriah was sweet, honest and a loyal friend. I raised an eyebrow. A loyal friend………


	3. Chapter 3

Neriah's face was honest. Her eyebrows were raised in a quizzical expression, staring at me as we stood, about ten feet apart. I didn't know what emotions or truths my face might display, and to be honest, I was afraid I had a look of desperation; madness. I had to see Rochelle again.

"Ethan?" Neriah edged closer and held out a hand for me to take. I took it quickly and pulled her into a sharp embrace.

"We're worried. Are you—" She paused and pulled back slightly to look me in the eyes. Her expression was one of concern. I smiled, no, I beamed at her, as the most absurd and ruthless thought crossed my mind.

"Ethan? Speak to me. Please, let's go find Akarian," I stayed where I was as she attempted to lead me out of the trees.

"You are an incredible artist," I stated, a small smile across my face. Neriah's eyes widened in confusion.

"Thank you, but—"

"And your power is that so great, it can even open portals to other worlds. Imagine that!" Ok, now I definitely sounded mad, the tone in my voice was high and mocking in a way. I reminded myself to take the fakeness down a notch. I didn't want her to alert Matt with her thoughts. He'd be here in an instant.

"Ethan. What's going on?"

I knelt down, yanking her with me. We faced each other, and she frowned.

"I can _hear_ her Neriah. She's in my mind; in the air; everyday!"

She shook her head. "No Ethan, you're just imagining it."

I let go of her hand, embarrassed yet determined to prove my point.

"Can't you feel it? That intense pressure in the air that hangs around you when Matt's not by your side. You know he's still with you, even if you're miles apart."

I paused and looked her straight in the eye. "Or—worlds apart."

Neriah looked perplexed. "Ethan. I know you'r feeling so guilty about what happened. But don't you think your mind has just broken loose? Can you even hear yourself?"

"Tell me you know what I feel Neriah."

She stood up briskly. "Well of course I feel that! But are you sure you do?!"

"I've never been so sure."

"Well what makes you think I can—"

I raised an eyebrow and got up, walking to the cliff edge. Neriah followed, I could hear her footsteps on the gravel and grass.

"You could....use your—talent." I said, turning to look at her. Her hair whipped around her face in the wind. Neriah was quite beautiful, I could see Matt's love for her shimmering in her eyes. But all compassion in her eyes vanished with my words. Her gaze hardened, her eyes narrowed.

"Ethan—Never—"

"Please Neriah. Just consider this. It is my only way to get her back."

"But Ethan, bringing her back defies all the ethics of mortality. Matt would never allow it."

"To be honest Neriah, we're hardly thoroughly mortal are we? And Matt doesn't need to know!"

She stepped back and rubbed her arms up and down. The biting wind must be freezing to her skin, I thought. I hardly noticed pain anymore. I was numb through and through.

"I've never lied to him before," she whispered, a pained noise that I barely heard.

"Just think about it. Please. For me," I pleaded, before turning and walking back into the deep forest. After a few yards I heard her call my name. It was a blatant sound of panic that I'd get lost, but over time, I had grown to love the twisted jungle of greenery as a haven. No one could touch me here.

Going home was hard. My mother was cheerful, preparing dinner, fumbling around the house in all her womanly ways. She smiled at me when I entered, took in my forlorn face and left it well alone.

My father on the other hand was a changed man. Much we had seen at the last battle, and my pain for Rochelle echoed in my fathers eyes. It wasn't fair to let him feel bad too, but I couldn't change the way I felt. Not unless Neriah could pull through for me.

"Ethan? Where have you been?" my father pressed, following me up the stairs. I merely mumbled some tale about Isabel and school before striding into my room and locking the door.

"Ethan! You can't keep doing this! Think about me and your mother. It's like you've died, it's Sera all over again!" he exclaimed, pounding on the door. I ignored him, his words invisible dust that hung around the house, but they never affected me.

"ETHAN!" he continued to yell, until I heard my mother lead him away, back downstairs to a full meal, I supposed.

I sat on my bed, head in hands. Then it happened. The shrill tone of the phone sounded in my room, and I was all set to leave it, let my mother deal with it, like every other day. But no, this time I contemplated picking it up. Maybe I was going crazy. Maybe I needed to get over this. I leant over and picked up the receiver.

"Ethan? I'm in. Don't. Tell. Matt." Neriah hung up the phone quickly, and I placed it back on my table. She was in.

It was time to get my love back.


End file.
